House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday morning that he believes Republican President Donald Trump cut a debt ceiling deal with Democrats Wednesday because the President wanted to avoid a partisan fight as the country faced two devastating hurricanes.
It was just hours before the deal was cut that Ryan personally called the Democrats’ proposal “ridiculous” at a news conference.
“Yeah, I sort of noticed that,” Ryan said jokingly when asked about the awkward timing Thursday during an event hosted by The New York Times at Washington’s Newseum.
Ryan said he “completely understands” that Trump wanted to avoid any uncertainty for hurricane victims.
“He wanted to have a bipartisan response and not a food fight on the timing of the debt limit attached to this bill,” Ryan said. “That’s what I believe his motivation was.”
Ryan said he is sure that Trump just wanted this to be a “bipartisan moment for the country,” but added that for the sake of certainty, he still thinks that Congress should pass longer-term increases of the debt ceiling.
Ryan tried to emphasize that the deal cut Wednesday was not a reflection of his and Trump’s relationship and that on other issues like tax reform, he and the President are working very closely.
“On tax reform, he’s very, very engaged,” Ryan said.